Mongabay Newscast

The scientific evidence for what kinds of nature conservation programs actually work is always changing, and the use of such evidence should be standard practice when creating new programs, our two guests on this episode argue. Hiromi Yamashita & Andrew Bladon with the Conservation Evidence Group join us to discuss their massive new “What Works In Conservation 2021” report, which evaluates scientific evidence for the success of conservation initiatives. Yamashita shares her work on how traditional and local knowledge benefit conservation initiatives--especially around coastal conservation projects--while Bladon provides a broad overview and details about the newest sections added to their latest report, like the evidence for mammal conservation project successes or failures: What Works in Conservation, 2021 Also discussed is Mongabay’s Conservation Effectiveness series, which looks at the scientific evidence for a number of strategies, from forest certification to marine protected areas and payments for